Old-Fashioned Potato Biscuits

Potato Biscuits

I recently came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Potato Biscuits, and decided to give it a try. The biscuits were soft and tender. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.

Here’s the original recipe:

This recipe calls for using the Crisco brand of shortening. That’s because the recipe was published in a 1924 promotional cookbook for Crisco. When I updated the recipe, I changed it to just “shortening” since any brand would work. I used all-purpose flour rather than pastry flour when I made this recipe, and it worked fine.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Potato Biscuits

Servings: approximately 10 biscuits
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed potatoes

1/4 cup shortening

approximately 1/3 cup milk, as needed

Preheat oven to 450° F. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together; stir in the mashed potatoes. Then cut (work) in the shortening and butter using fingers, pastry blender, or food processor. Gradually add the milk while mixing with a knife or spoon. Continue adding liquid until there is a soft dough. The amount of milk needed varies depending upon the type of flour. On a floured board, pat or roll the dough until 1/2 -inch thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter. (I used a drinking glass as the cutter.) Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

1924 Perspectives on Gluten

bread — Source: The Whys of Cooking by Janet McKenzie Hill (1924)

Today we tend to think of gluten in a negative way. But here is what it said about gluten in a 1924 cookbook:

BREADS

. . . The protein in flour is in the form of gluten, and while elasticity is a property of all proteins, the gluten of wheat possesses this property in marked degree. This strong elastic gluten makes a good framework to retain the air and carbon dioxide, and renders wheat the ideal grain for bread making. The protein in oats and corn are deficient in this property and when used in bread making are combined with wheat.

Wheat and flour vary greatly in the quantity of gluten present; even the same variety of wheat will vary from season to season. Also, in connection with the kind of wheat, the time of planting affects the quantity and quality of the gluten. Spring wheat sown in the spring and harvested the same season contains more protein and, consequently, more gluten than winter wheat sown in the fall and harvested in the early part of the summer. Flour from spring wheat, rich in gluten, is well adapted to bread making and is known as bread flour. It is creamy in color, granular to the touch and passes through a sieve easily; a slight jar sends it through. Flour from winter wheat is whiter in color and soft to the touch; if a quantity be crushed in the hand it will retain the impress of the lines in the hand. It tastes sweet. It is adapted to the making of starch. It is adapted to the making of cake and pastry articles; foods in which delicacy rather than strength is sought. Such flour is known as pastry flour.

Source: The Whys of Cooking by Janet McKenzie Hill (1924)

Old-Fashioned Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Creamed Sweet Potatoes

I’m always looking for new ways to serve vegetables, so was intrigued by a hundred-year-old recipe for Creamed Sweet Potatoes. The recipe actually called for both diced sweet potatoes and celery. The combination worked well together, and I was pleased with how the recipe turned out.

Here’s the original recipe:

When I made this recipe, I was uncertain whether I was supposed to use left-over cold sweet potatoes that had previously been cooked, or if I was supposed to peel sweet potatoes and cut the uncooked sweet potatoes into cubes. I decided to go with the latter approach. The reason I used uncooked diced sweet potatoes is because they can easily be over-cooked and become very mushy. I wanted the sweet potatoes pieces to hold their shape.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Creamed Sweet Potatoes

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

1 cup half and half (light cream)

2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes

1/2 cup celery (about 1 stalk), diced

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chopped parsley (or 1 tablespoon parsley flakes) – I used parsley flakes.

Put half and half in a saucepan; add diced sweet potatoes. Using medium heat, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. Genty stir occasionally while cooking, being sure to stir all the way to the bottom of the pan since the cream will easily scorch. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, gently stir in the paprika and parsley, then add the celery. Heat for another minute or two (until the mixture is hot and bubbly); remove from the heat and serve.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Why Does Yolk of Egg Keep White From Beating Stiff?

egg white with a little yolk mixed in

I know that if there is even a bit of yolk in egg whites that they won’t beat well, and that it is impossible to get stiff peaks. Over the years, I’ve often broken a yolk when separating the whites from the yolks and ended up discarding the egg white (or the whites from multiple eggs if I was being cavalier and had assumed that I wouldn’t have problems and directly separated eggs into a bowl that already had whites from other eggs). But I never knew why until I read a short article in a hundred-year-old magazine. (It’s amazing how many new things I’ve learned over the years from old books and magazines.)

Why Does Yolk of Egg Keep White from Beating Stiff?

If even a small portion of the yolk of the egg gets mixed with the white, this will keep the white from beating to the same kind of stiff froth that the white alone will beat into, because there is enough oil present, in the little portions of yolk, to keep down the froth. You know you cannot beat olive oil, for instances, into a froth. You know that “pouring oil on troubled waters” is a very real, rather than poetical expression of the smoothing-down effect of oil on a rough sea and angry breakers. Yet if only a very little of the yolk gets mixed with the white, and if you beat long and hard, you will get a fluffed up mass, though not of the same texture attainable by beating of the white alone.

American Cookery (December, 1924)

Okay, I guess this makes sense – but I’m still a little confused. Why can heavy cream (with lots of fat) be whipped into stiff peaks, while skim milk (with no fat) doesn’t whip at all?

Old-Fashioned Mushroom Omelet

Mushroom Omelet

I enjoy the challenge of making omelets and I like mushrooms, so I decided to make a hundred-year-old recipe for Mushroom Omelet. The omelet turned out well and was tasty.

The 1924 New Butterick Cook Book had two Mushroom Omelet options. I selected the first one. Here are the original recipes:

Mushroom Omelet Recipes — The New Butterick Cook Book (1924)

I used milk instead of cream. One teaspoon of salt (and 1/2 teaspoon or pepper) seemed like a lot, so I used half that amount for each.

And, here is the original omelet recipe that I used:

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Mushroom Omelet

Servings: 3 - 4
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
Print

Omelet

4 eggs, separated

4 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place egg whites in a bowl, and beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, then stir in the milk, salt, and pepper. Fold in the beaten egg whites.

In the meantime, heat a large oven-proof skillet on the top of the stove using medium-low heat.(I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet.) Put butter in pan. When the butter is melted, pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Then move the skillet to the oven, and bake for about 8 – 10 minutes or until the egg mixture is set. Remove from oven, and loosen the edges of the omelet from the skillet with a knife or spatula, then turn onto a plate. Put the mushroom filling (see below) onto half of the omelet, and then fold in half and serve.

Omelet Filling

1 cup mushroom pieces (fresh or canned)

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk

Cut mushrooms into small pieces. Melt butter in a saucepan, then add the mushrooms. Sauté for several minutes, then stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the milk while stirring constantly. Heat until the mixture is hot and bubbly.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Hundred-Year-Old Table for Tracking Cooking Times

Cover of the New Home Cook Book — Source: The New Home Cook Book (1924) published by the Illinois State Register (Springfield, IL)

With the new year, I’m moving to 1924 cookbooks. I’m re-energized by the opportunity to explore “new” hundred-year-old cookbooks.

By 1924, more cooks were getting gas and electric stoves, and cookbooks were addressing their challenges as they learned new cooking techniques. The New Home Cook Book noted on the cover that it included a cooking guide for “wood-fire, gas, and electricity.” Cooks apparently found it challenging to know how long foods should be cooked, so the book included a table that could be used for tracking cooking times, temperatures, and the oven rack used.

Table for recording cooking results — Source: The New Home Cook Book (1924) published by the Illinois State Register (Springfield, IL)

Old-Fashioned Bacon Cream Soup

Bowl of Bacon Cream Soup

It’s cold and wintery outside, and I’m ready to cozy up and enjoy comfort foods. I came across a hundred-year-old recipe for Bacon Cream Soup that fits the bill. The soup was delicious and easy to make.

Here’s the original recipe:

It seemed odd that the old recipe called for putting sliced potatoes (and onions) in the soup. Smaller pieces seem more typical for a soup, so I cut the potatoes, onions, and celery into small pieces. The original recipe calls for whole milk. I think that skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk would work in this recipe, so I didn’t specify the type of milk when I updated the recipe.

I used all of the fat that I got from cooking the bacon. Unless the bacon is extremely fatty, I don’t think that there is no need to measure out an exact amount of bacon fat for this recipe.

Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Bacon Cream Soup

Servings: 4 - 5
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 large onion, coarsely diced into 1/2 inch pieces

3 stalks celery, coarsely diced into 1/2 inch pieces

3 slices bacon

2 tablespoons flour

4 cups milk

Put the potato, onion, and celery pieces into a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil using high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and drain. Set aside.

Fry bacon until crisp in a Dutch oven or other large pan, then remove the cooked bacon from the pan, and break into small pieces. Set aside.

Stir the flour into the hot bacon fat. Slowly add the milk while constantly stirring and using medium heat. Stir in the cooked vegetables and bacon. Heat until hot and steamy, then serve.

http://www.ahundredyearsag0.com